This year Patriots 15th Annual Youth Summit is a two day event May 4th & 5th 2012. The purpose of the Summit is to get students excited about the possibility of college, study and careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

This year Patriots 15th Annual Youth Summit is a two day event May 4th & 5th 2012. The Youth Summit on Technology is the Patriots signature event and is now attended by over 700 students and parents from the 5th grade through 12th grade.

April 16th marks the fifth anniversary of the Virginia Tech massacre which took place in Blacksburg, Va in 2007.

32 lives were lost that day in the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history as well as the lone gunman who later killed himself.

We all remember where we were when news of a gunman on Tech's campus was announced. I was walking to one of my many journalism classes at my university, which was 2.5 hours from Tech. I recall looking down at my phone to a mass number of missed calls and text messages from college friends asking if I had heard the news. At that time, some of my best friends from high school went to Tech and I was very worried about them. Thank goodness they were okay, but that day changed campus life forever at Virginia Tech and across the country.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, obesity is a major issue facing the people of America today. In fact, they report that around a third of all adults and 17 percent of all children are considered to be obese. One thing that most people have in common is that we snack throughout the day and, without our realizing it, those snack choices can do a lot to help or hinder our weight loss and wellness efforts. In fact, it’s important to keep in mind that not all snacks are created equal, and it’s crucial that people opt for healthy ones.

“Research shows that snacking makes up around 27 percent of a child’s daily calories,” explains Dan Negroni, the chief executive officer and president of Fresh Healthy Vending (www.freshvending.com). “This means that it is crucial that we teach children to opt for healthy snacks. And that starts by us adults modeling healthy snacking behavior.”